It Had to Be Him(40)

Josh said, “Casey told me earlier the mayor nixed anyone renting me a place in town.”

She hadn’t heard that. She hated that her father had the power to do that. Why couldn’t he just butt out?

Amber waved her hand. “I live just outside of town and couldn’t give a flip what the mayor says.”

Typical of a Grant.

Haley picked that moment to tap on the back of Megan’s shorts and leave a chocolate stain. “All done. More?”

“Nope. We’ll go get a sandwich if you’re still hungry, sweetheart.” She glanced at Josh to gauge his reaction at seeing his daughter for the first time. He completely ignored Amber and smiled at Haley as Amber rattled on about the lovely attributes of her guesthouse.

Luckily Meg’s ice cream scooping replacement arrived, so she greeted her, untied her apron, and then passed it over as an idea struck her. “Josh won’t be staying in your guesthouse, Amber. He’s going to stay at my lodge. We’ll find our own ways to work off the rent.”

Her replacement worker, and third grade teacher, Mrs. Mitchell, raised a brow.

Yeah. That had come out all wrong, dammit.

She sent a stern glance Josh’s way to be sure he knew it was his job to play along, and was met by his naughty grin.

Men. He probably thought he’d get the same sexual favors Amber was clearly offering. “By installing a dock and refinishing floors. That kind of thing. And Haley and I will still be living in Grandma’s guesthouse.”

Josh’s smile never wavered. “Ah.” He turned to Amber. “Thanks for the offer, but it looks like I’m all set.”

Smart man.

The only reason Amber wanted Josh to live in her guesthouse was to annoy Meg. And probably to sleep with him too. But no way was she letting Josh anywhere near Amber-the-man-stealer. Amber had stolen her boyfriend in high school but wouldn’t get away with it again. But that would imply Josh was hers and that wasn’t the case. Josh seemed to want to make it the case. But she shouldn’t, and didn’t, want him back. Did she?

Admittedly, the urge to set all his fancy shoes on fire was finally gone.

She’d have to think on it later. After she dropped the daddy news on her kid. Doing that just right was the most important thing. She didn’t want to scar Haley for life. “We’re going to hit the bathroom and get cleaned up. Bye, Mrs. Mitchell.”

Josh untied his apron and fell in step with Meg as she carried Haley across the square.

Amber called out, “Pity. I was looking forward to getting to know you better, Josh. See you around.”

Wench.

“She’s a piece of work.” Josh opened the door to the blessedly cool hallway to her dad’s office. “By the way, I’m partial to being included in my own housing decisions.”

She stopped walking and huffed out a breath. “Fine. If you’d rather go live with the Wicked Witch of the West, be my guest. I was trying to do you a favor. We’ll be right back and then we’ll do the . . . thing!” She slapped the door to the ladies room open and set Haley down. Haley’s widened eyes proved Meg had let the pressure of what she was about to do get to her. She’d crossed the line to scary-mommy mode.

She was just about to apologize to Haley when a set of strong hands spun her around and into a tight hug.

Josh whispered in her ear, “We can do the thing later. I don’t want to cause you more problems with your father by staying at your place.”

She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed the feel of his arms wrapped around her. Maybe she’d let him hold her for just a minute . . . or two. “Amber knows how to get under my skin. I shouldn’t have let her. I’m good now.”

He gave her a quick squeeze. “Your call.”

Haley looked up at the two of them like they’d both lost their minds. “Only girls can come in here.”

Her little rule follower. How a rebel like her ended up with such a sweet kid was a mystery.

Now was probably as good a time as any to break the news. At least they had some privacy. “Josh was checking to be sure we were all right.” She wet some paper towels and cleaned Haley’s hands. “Josh is your father, Haley. Remember we talked about that a little while ago?” Man, that was lame. Maybe she’d better try that again.

“Uh-huh.” Haley grinned around the wet paper towel dabbing at her face. “Do you have a doggy? Mommy won’t let me have one.”

Really? That’s the first thing she says to him? They’d already talked about why they couldn’t have a dog. She refused to feel guilty about that much.

Josh said, “Nope.” Then he knelt to Haley’s level. “But I like dogs. I saw some fun games going on out there. Do you want to try a few with me?”